Purifying organic liquid



. Patented July v UN -rap [STATES PATENT OFFICE.

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NoDrawing. Application filed August", 1925, Serial 1%. 50,850, and in Germany August 30, 1924.

Organic li uids obtained in a synthetic way, especial y" those prepared from gases 1 1 containing carbon monoxid or which may have been stored for some time in metallic vessels in thepresence of carbon monoxid, are often contaminated with a small amount 'of-iron or other metal carbonyl which; can

only. diflicultly be removed by the usual "F method which however causes much trouble .110 when the liquids are used for or subjected :to further treatment, particularly by catalytic methods.

,7 -We have new round that metal carbohyls, especially iron carbonyl, dissolved in organic liquids even in small traces, can be complete ly removed by subjecting the liquid to ultraviolet rays, or treatin them with gases containing ozone which or the purpose of our invention are equivalents of ultra-violet rays. 2 Bysaid treatment the metal carbonyls are decomposed, forming non-volatile products I which can easily be removed from the liquid either by distillation or by a settling-process i and filtration or similar mechanical means. 1 If the liquid is contaminated by impurities such for exam le as aldehydes, or ketones,

such compoun s are also destroyed or corn verted into substances which can be easily removed by the action ofultra-violet rays in the presence ofoxygenor by thev action of ozone. -In such cases a'double purification efiect is obtained-without any addition of substances foreign to the liquid tobe As a source of ultra-violet rays a mercury lamp may be used, the liquid, for example, ,being passed'through a tube surrounding the lamp in order to utilize the active rays'm all directions. A complete decomposition of iron carbonyl contained in the liquor is at-- tained in a very short time. lhe above process is of special importance for the purification of synthetic methanol or other orgamc substances containing oxycohols, isobutyl alcohol an so on. For example, synthetic methanol containing 2 milhgrams of iron in the form of iron carbonyl per litre is exposed to the rays of a mercury lamp until no volatile iron compounds are left. By blowing in oxygen or air at the same time, the impurities-0f an aldehyde nature are also destroyed. The same effect is also roduced by a treatment with gases containing a slight percentage of ozone.

' We claim:

1. A process of removing metal carbonyl from organic liquids containing less than about per cent thereof which consists in exposing the liquid to the action of ultraviolet rays. 2. A'process for the purification of alcohols synthetically produced from carbon monoxid which consists in exposing same to the action of ultra-violet rays.

3.' A process for the purification of al-' cohols synthetically produced from carbon monoxid which consists in exposing same to the action of ultra-violet rays, simultaneously introducing a as containing oxygen.

In testimony w ereof We have hereunto set our hands.

. CARL MULLER.

WALTER FRANKENBURGER. FRIEDRICH GRASSNER. 

